Love and Hate
by milesprower06
Summary: With disaster apparently averted, Takato hopes for more peaceful times, as he reflects on the past, embraces the present, and looks on towards the future. But new situations arise, and for Takato, the tasks of a Tamer may become too much to handle...
1. Moving Forward

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

A/N: Note to any who read the author's notes – if you're a newcomer to my work, then I would have you know that this is the third part to one of my Digimon Tamers storylines that began back in _Loss and Gain_, and continued in _Life and Death_. To fully comprehend the plotline and character developments, I highly recommend reading those, and then returning here. If you're familiar with my work, then I shall make you wait no longer! Please enjoy!

Chapter 1 – Moving Forward

SHINJUKU CEMETARY

2:30 PM

ONE WEEK AFTER 'LIFE AND DEATH' CONCLUSION

Takato Matsuki walked down the fine gravel path; his pace slow, his feet crunching the gravel with every step, his heart in a state of reflection. He had come today to pay his respects to a friend passed…a friend he still had trouble believing was truly gone. It seemed like so long ago, but not even 6 months had passed since then.

As he approached the great oak shadowing the grave of Jeri Kato, he noticed a figure already sitting in front of it, also shadowed by the magnificent tree. As he stepped closer, he then recognized the figure all too well, sitting in front of the marble tombstone.

"Beelzemon..." Takato greeted, a hint of surprise leaking into his voice. The dark angel simply glanced in his direction, and gave him nothing more than a subtle nod, before returning his gaze to the grave he sat in front of.

Beelzemon had been an enemy and ally alike. During their journey in the Digital World to rescue Calumon, Takato knew that anyone in the group outside of the Zhuqiaomon's castle wouldn't ever forget what happened. If it had been up to him then, Beelzemon wouldn't be sitting here right now; nor would he be among the living. But that was the past. Beelzemon was considered a friend now, and no one among that group of Tamers no longer held anything against him.

'_So why is he here now?'_ Takato wondered, silently sitting down next to the demon Mega.

It only took a moment for Takato to realize that it was no doubt for the same reason he was here; to pay respects. And although no one had said anything, Takato suspected that he wasn't the only one who thought that Beelzemon was one of the hardest hit by Jeri's death, especially due to the cause of it…

'_No! It wasn't suicide…it COULDN'T have been. Not Jeri.' _Takato said mentally to himself, halting the train of thought before it took him somewhere he didn't want to go. He would never accept that; official autopsy reports be damned. Jeri would never hurt her friends like that. _Never._

In the weeks following the defeat of the D-Reaper, Jeri seemed to be well on the road to recovery. Even everyone's partners returning didn't seem to deter her in the slightest. She had Calumon to keep her company, and she had got the idea to throw Rika a surprise birthday party, much to the latter's distaste. She seemed fine; happy just because her friends were happy.

So it wasn't hard to imagine everyone being absolutely blindsided when her dad discovered that she had died in her sleep one night. It would be later determined that she had overdosed on a street-level anti-depressant; three times the suggested dose. Her death was labeled as intentional suicide. Her father hadn't been the same since. What caught everyone off guard was the fact that Jeri hadn't shown any signs of being on anything.

But Takato had trouble seeing how the coroners had determined suicide. She was obviously still distraught over losing Leomon, perhaps after everyone else's partners returned, and she didn't want any of her friends or family to know, to share her pain. Her determination to protect her friends from her own sadness had been her ultimate undoing. Takato didn't find that too hard to assume – what with how her negative emotions had fueled the D-Reaper's war machine, and how he himself had been going down the same path after losing Guilmon. If Rika, and later, Renamon, hadn't been there to help him…he didn't even want to think about where he'd be now.

Beelzemon hadn't said a word to him. Takato now wondered if the Mega was angry with him, perhaps holding against him the 'second chance' he had recently got with Guilmon. There could be no second chance for Leomon; Beelzemon had loaded his data seconds after he had dissipated, claiming, _'To have power is to be strong.'_

Takato knew Beelzemon no longer believed that. After Jeri had asked Takato to spare him from his killing blow, the leather-clad demon seemed to wake up from his power-hungry rampage. His failed, hell-bent attempt to rescue her from the D-Reaper kernel had nearly cost him his life. Had it not been for Grani, Beelzemon wouldn't be here today. Just moments before all the Digimon had to return to the digital plane to escape erasure; he asked Jeri if she could ever forgive him for what he had done, and she had immediately done so.

"It takes a very special person…to forgive something like that. To forgive murder." Beelzemon said, at last breaking the silence.

"Did she really mean it? Or did she just want me to feel better?" the demon angel asked. Takato understood where he was coming from. Jeri had been taking anti-depressants to make her friends think she was fine. Why not just tell Impmon 'forgive and forget' to make him feel better?

"She meant it." Takato told him.

"How would you know?"

"Because you can't fake forgiveness. You saw her eyes, Beelzemon. There was no resentment. No hatred. What happened, happened, and she was trying her best to move on. I know firsthand that that's not the easiest task."

"No, it's not."

Beelzemon's reply again made Takato think. Had _he _moved on? Everyone knew he had honestly changed, and had forgiven him. But…had he forgiven himself? It couldn't be easy; him looking back and remembering what he used to be like; that cold, ruthless murderer that would've stepped over anything and anyone to become stronger.

But that was the past. He had changed. Beelzemon _had_ to see that, right?

Takato let the thoughts fade. It wasn't easy, putting yourself in someone else's shoes. He would never truly see through Beelzemon's eyes, just as Beelzemon would never see through Jeri's. And so their questions would remain unanswered.

"Beelzemon, we could sit here, and rehash the past all we want. But deep down, I truly feel that she'd want us to move forward. I…" Takato considered what he wanted to say.

"I know it's not easy, looking back and seeing who you used to be. But that's not what's important. The important thing is that you've changed, that you know what to fight for. Who to fight for."

Takato had met Ai and Mako only once, at the digital gate in the park before the Digimon returned to the Digital World. The twins were his Tamers, and although he never talked about it, Impmon left them for some reason, some time before the D-Reaper invasion. But whatever the reason, he supposed it didn't matter, because he had returned to them, and Takato believed that's where his strength came from during the battles against the D-Reaper. But at the kernel…

'_What I did…is beyond forgiveness. I don't need anyone to tell me that. No matter what I do, I can't change the past.'_

No, Beelzemon wasn't fighting for his Tamers at that particular moment. He was fighting for Jeri. Not even in his own lust for vengeance outside of Zhuqiaomon's castle, had Takato seen such unbridled determination.

'_I'm gonna get you out Jeri, if it's the last thing I freakin' do!'_

It almost _was_ the last thing he did. He put 200 into every blow he delivered to the kernel shield, but nothing seemed to work. No matter how badly he wanted it to give, the D-Reaper seemed just an ounce too strong.

'_Ahhhhh! Give me the strength I need!!'_

By somehow using Leomon's Fist of the Beast King technique, Beelzemon broke through. But Jeri was frozen, overwhelmed by what Beelzemon had to resort to in order to break through the kernel. As the breach began to close, both Beelzemon and Takato begged Jeri to take his hand.

'_You're…not Leomon…'_

Beelzemon was forced out of the breach, and the panel blades that had been harassing Gallantmon the entire battle now ripped through Beelzemon, nearly destroying him.

'_Please, I just need one more chance! Jeri! Jeri…!!'_

Perhaps fate had made Beelzemon truly pay that day for what he had done; to have one of your prized possessions destroyed, to fight for someone you wronged, to get so close, fail, and then even in what may have been your dying breaths, you still beg for one more chance, but never getting that chance. That was the end of Beelzemon's involvement in the war against the D-Reaper. Ai and Mako had nursed him back to health before he had to return to the digital plane along with the other Digimon partners.

In the weeks after Jeri died, no one saw much of Beelzemon or his rookie form. Everyone grieved in their own way, and even though no one mentioned him, Beelzemon was periodically on everyone's mind.

"This is the first time I've come here. What took so long? Did I not want to see it? What I had done?"

"It wasn't your-"

"Don't." Beelzemon cut Takato off.

"Don't try and make me feel better. I don't care if she was taking those damned pills herself – it was because of what I did. It all began with me…because I was so freakin' blind…"

Both Beelzemon and Takato recalled Leomon's last words.

'_Why can't you see?'_

Beelzemon placed his right hand on the grave.

"I'm sorry, Jeri. I'll be sorry forever."

With that, the dark angel stood, and left, without another word.


	2. Happy Monday

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 2 – Happy Monday

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

7:10 AM

THE NEXT MORNING

Takato slowly came to, in a haze, that dense fog between being asleep and awake, dully feeling someone gently poking him.

"You'll never get him up like that. Here, watch."

The fog was lifted as a wet, slimy tongue moved up his cheek. Takato groaned in protest.

"Guilmon…" he moaned.

"See? You wanna try?" the crimson dino asked.

"I'll pass" he heard Renamon reply to Guilmon's offer.

"Come on, Takatomon, time to get up!"

Due to Guilmon's enthusiasm, Takato had serious doubts towards the existence of Mondays in the Digital World. Otherwise, he'd understand why he was loathe to greet the day, which hadn't even started yet. The sun was just beginning to break the horizon.

"What are you even doing up?" Takato asked his raptor partner. He had been known to sleep through more than anyone he knew.

"We were woken up in your mother's rather loud attempts to get you up. I don't know how you sleep through that. We figured it best to get you up before she comes up here to do it herself." Renamon said.

With one final groan, Takato lifted the covers and sat up. Rubbing his eyes for a moment, he made his way over to the ladder, and climbed down. Getting dressed, Takato wondered what he should expect today. It was to be his first day back to school, since Ms. Asaji allowed him 'recovery time' after the battle on the Hypnos Towers a week and a half ago. After all, when doctors report an abnormal heart condition and a second degree burn, you couldn't really demand that he be in school the next day. Knowing that he'd be more comfortable at home, Takahiro and Mei were given a stethoscope and gauze rolls, along with instructions to check their son's heart rate daily, and redress the burn on his back and the bite marks on his right forearm as they needed changing. This past weekend, they asked Takato if he thought he was well enough to return to school, and he said he was. Nothing was out of the ordinary with his recovery, as he had left the bakery just twice; a week ago to visit Rika's gravesite, and again yesterday, to visit Jeri's. Although his back still periodically tingled, the only gauze he still wore was on his forearm, as the bite wounds were on the last steps of healing.

Since he was returning to school, Renamon had offered Mei her and Guilmon's help to run the bakery, as they'd have really nothing else to do while Takato was at school. After having Guilmon promise that he'd fill more than the position of taste tester, Mei agreed. After all, both of them had experience from when they baked bread during the D-Reaper invasion.

Slipping on socks and shoes, Takato grabbed his backpack, and went downstairs for breakfast, his two partners directly behind him.

"It's about time, Takato. You're going to be late." Mei said. Takato had gotten accustomed to that line being a secondary 'good morning.'

"It's alright – I'll eat on the way." Takato replied, grabbing a few fresh bread rolls, quickly downing a glass of milk. He hugged his mom goodbye, and made his way to the side door.

"Bye, Guilmon. Bye, Renamon."

"Have a good day!" Mei called.

"Bye bye, Takatomon!" Guilmon called.

"Guilmon, for the twelfth time – Takato. Ta-ka-to."

Mei chuckled, as she hadn't witnessed this humorous exchange the first time. Takato was baffled; as Guilmon had remembered all of his memories, except apparently, how to pronounce his Tamer's name.

"See you when you get home…Takatomon." Renamon called to him. Takato said nothing to that, taken slightly aback by Renamon's wisecrack. Walking outside, Takato swore he could hear her snickering. He never would have guessed that she had a mischievous side. Guilmon was starting to rub off on her. He smiled at the thought of that.

'_Alright, here goes nothing.'_ Takato said to himself, jogging down the street towards school.

SHINJUKU MIDDLE SCHOOL

8:20 AM

Ms. Asaji set her lesson plan on her desk, having flipped through it one last time. Her classroom had grown surprisingly quiet over the last six months. After Kazu and Kenta moved overseas, the amount of detention slips she wrote on a weekly basis decreased by more than half. But sometimes she missed the duo's antics. Jeri was immediately missed, although the cause of death was kept quiet as best as possible. But, honestly, the person whose absence she noticed the most was Takato. He wasn't exactly a model student, but only when he was gone for an extended period of time did she realize just how much life he brought to her class. News had reached her that Guilmon had come back, and she was glad for him. Fate hadn't exactly been kind to him the past few months. She would never do so openly to Takato, but she laughed on the inside when she remembered Guilmon being 'born' that one day outside of her classroom. She had asked Takato if he was designing a Halloween costume. Not looking up to see who it was, he responded rather rudely. Back then, she didn't know what Digimon was, other than simply knowing it was a hobby of several boys in her class. But she, and everyone in Shinjuku and around the world, soon realized that it was no longer a game. It was the Tamers and their Digimon who saved the world from certain doom from the all-consuming D-Reaper. After the Digimon had to depart for a few weeks, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the Tamers, but education stops for very little. Over the next several months, things had returned to what was loosely considered 'normal' in Shinjuku, and the kids somehow were able to balance school with their 'duties' as Digimon Tamers.

Then came the news that Takato, Henry Wong; another student at the school, and Rika Nonaka, a privately-schooled Tamer, had traveled down to Egypt to investigate a 'bio-emergence', whatever that was. But Takato's mother called her the next day, giving her the tragic news of Takato losing Guilmon, and that he wouldn't be in school until further notice. Barely a week later, the Tamer Rika, had been fatally shot in a food mart hold-up, and Takato had been present. Losing a close friend was never easy, but two, in such a small timeframe? The middle-school teacher began to fear for her student's emotional health. Even though he didn't use his best judgment at times, he was a good-natured, sweet-hearted kid, and she didn't want to see this happen to him. Takato went to see a psychiatrist, and he returned to school shortly after. Although it was evident he was struggling with his losses, he kept up fine for the next three months. Then, almost two weeks ago, Ms. Asaji noticed Takato was having trouble concentrating, even for him. She sent him home to give him more time to come to terms with what had happened. That was the night of that blackout, and something had attempted to attack the Hypnos Agency towers. She knew next to nothing about Hypnos and the Tamers' affiliation with the government agency, but Takato had been a factor in the 'confrontation' as news reports had put it. Mei Matsuki called once again, saying that doctors strongly recommended that he stay home for at least a week, due to a heart condition and a second-degree burn. His mother also relayed the pleasant news that Guilmon had been brought back by some means, and Ms. Asaji knew that would help Takato recover from whatever had happened. Now he was returning, and you could say she was looking forward to having him in class today, and if she had to tell him to pay attention once or twice, it would be worth it.

The warning bell rang, and her class of 25 began to slowly filter in. When she saw Takato come in, she called him up to her desk as the rest of the class talked to their friends before the final morning bell rang, signaling for class to begin.

"Welcome back, Takato" she said to him, and he gave a short bow in return.

"Glad to be back, Ms. Asaji. Hope I haven't missed much."

"You really haven't missed all that much. As you may know, school was out for the day after the blackout while they were still getting power back on everywhere. I can give you the material we covered for the past week, but I won't require you to turn anything in. Though I believe your mother wouldn't agree, I'm going to excuse you from tomorrow's test, as I understand you've been through the wringer. I'm glad you got Guilmon back."

"Thank you, Ms. Asaji. That means a lot."

"It's a good thing you're on time. Last thing we need is you sitting in the hall, drawing up another one."

Takato chuckled at his teacher's joke, and the last bell rang, and he, along with the rest of the class, made it to their seats. Ms. Asaji stood at the front podium, gave Takato the 'official' welcome back to the class, and then began with the morning's lesson. Takato didn't seem to have any trouble paying attention today, and why not? Things were finally beginning to look up…

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

11:40 PM

Mei Matsuki stood in the kitchen, overlooking her 'help' for the day, as she took another tray of cream puffs out of the oven, preparing for the lunch rush, which was just beginning. Guilmon was doing his best at mixing some bread dough, and Renamon was on the next step of kneading it. As she looked at the duo, she began to think back over the past six, chaotic months.

She recalled her reaction when her son walked in the front door with Guilmon for the first time, the day he announced the Tamers' plans to go to the Digital World after a friend. During their son's 'trip abroad', she couldn't help but worry, but business ran as usual, and she and her husband practiced on the 'Guilmon Bread', which was now, easily the bakery's best-selling item.

She remembered when she and Takahiro decided to send Takato to visit his cousin Kai in Okinawa for a vacation. How he managed to squeeze Guilmon into that suitcase was anyone's guess. She was worried about her son traveling abroad, but she saw Takato on TV at the Okinawa Airport with Kai and the president of the V-Pet Corporation, relieved that he had arrived safely.

When the kids returned, something had followed them back, and soon, the entity known as 'D-Reaper' began to overtake the entire city, and quickly the planet. If it wasn't for the Tamers' last, determined move against it, the world as they knew it may not have existed anymore. But the children had succeeded where the world's best military forces were halted, so there was no denying that they knew what they were doing. It wasn't too long after the D-Reaper crisis that all the kids' Digimon returned. Takato had come home that day overjoyed, not to mention with Guilmon.

Not too long after that, Jeri had announced plans to throw Rika a surprise birthday party, and Takato got involved. But things didn't exactly go as planned, unless the plan was to have a train Digimon circle around the railroads of Shinjuku, searching for a Digital Zone, which spat out hordes of Parasimon, which caused considerable damage to the city, before the Tamers, biomerged with their partners, were able to wipe them all out before GrandLocomon chugged on through the Zone, which closed afterwards.

'Biomerging' was one of the many things that baffled Mei. Takato told her that he had done it the first time by wishing deep down to be able to fight with Guilmon. He and the red raptor merged together to become the magnificent knight, Gallantmon. Takato's good friend Henry and his partner, Terriermon, came together to form the gargantuan MegaGargomon, who had more than its share of ballistics. Rika and Renamon had merged to form the mystic and beautiful fox shaman Sakuyamon. How they did it was beyond her, but there was no denying their powerful abilities when they did so.

But she accepted things the way they were; when a 'bio-emergence' occurred, Takato and the others went running. She couldn't help but worry about her son each and every time, but that came with being a mother. She wouldn't forget her son's third trip abroad, to Cairo, Egypt, to investigate a signal that only Rika picked up. He had returned late that night, without Guilmon, and Rika had confirmed Mei's fears days later. Takato didn't speak or eat for days, and it worried her sick. Fortunately, Rika had gladly volunteered to help him through his tragic ordeal. She got him to let it out, and even snuck over one night to help him get a full night's sleep. Mei quickly picked up the fact that the seeds of a relationship between the two of them were being planted. Unfortunately, those seeds would never sprout, as fate, cruel it could be sometimes, was not done with Takato. The next evening, Rika and Takato entered a food mart down the street, and Mei, along with the rest of the block, heard three gunshots. She and Takahiro raced down there to find their son standing just outside the food mart, dazed, shot in the shoulder, and surrounded by squad cars. He passed out where he stood, and slipped into a three-day coma. The food mart's cashier, the robber, and Rika had been pronounced dead at the scene. Renamon was the only witness. Mei barely slept for those three days. She and Takahiro temporarily closed the bakery and spent every moment outside Takato's hospital room.

Losing Guilmon had belittled and broken his spirit, and Rika's murder had completely shattered what was left. He convinced himself to go to a psychiatrist appointment, to find direction in a world he now felt so lost in. Mei swore to help her son however she could. Renamon also committed herself to Takato, and helped him down the long road of recovery. If it hadn't been for her…

"Renamon" Mei addressed the towering vixen.

"Yes?"

"May I see you in back for a moment?"

Renamon nodded, and Mei informed Takahiro that she was taking a five-minute breather. She and Renamon went over to the stairs leading up to the residence.

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Matsuki?" Renamon asked.

"Please, Renamon. It's Mei."

"Mei," Renamon corrected herself.

"I don't know why I haven't said this earlier, so now is as good a time as any. I…I never thanked you, for being there for Takato, when he needed someone there the most. Having a business to run and all, you really don't know what it means to know that your son has someone who can always be there for him, especially when times are rough. I can never fully repay you for what you've done for him, and you will always have my thanks." Mei said, giving the Digimon a polite bow.

"Mrs. – Mei…Takato was there for me as much as I was there for him. Just as I helped him through his loss, he helped me through mine. The two of us realized that our partnership had to work both ways, and that is what brought us through our ordeal. There is nothing to be repaid on your part."

Mei took Renamon's paw, and momentarily bowed her head at the fox.

"Thank you again, Renamon. I am honored to have you here in my home."

Renamon took that same paw and placed it on Mei's shoulder, as they walked back to the kitchen.

"You have a truly wonderful son, Mei. I am honored to know him."

The two of them returned to the kitchen, discovering that three of the dozen oven-fresh cream puffs were missing. Guilmon was trying his best to duck behind the counter.

"Guilmon, you owe me 12.75." Mei said, chastising the dino. Guilmon's clueless look was enough to make her smile, and instantly forget Guilmon's debt.

"Best get these out to the rack so we can at least make some money." Mei said, chuckling, leaving Renamon and Guilmon in the kitchen for a few moments. Renamon gave the goofy dino a look.

"What?"

"If they sold _half_ of what you eat, they could retire."

There was that clueless look again. She remembered when all of them had come here to make breakfast during the D-Reaper crisis. Rika had been extremely skeptical at the group's ability to make anything edible; rambling about how they were all going to get food poisoning. But when Guilmon sneezed into some bread mix, the entire kitchen had been enveloped in clouds of flour. While everyone else just stared in surprise, Rika burst into laughter, quite to Renamon's astonishment. It was one of her favorite memories of her former Tamer and friend.

It felt like so long ago…


	3. Imagine the Possibilities

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 3 – Imagine the Possibilities

SHINJUKU MIDDLE SCHOOL

12:30 PM

Takato poked at his tray of food, just starting into his lunch, partially grateful that he finally got to eat something not entirely bread-related.

"Well, welcome back" someone behind him greeted.

Henry Wong walked around the table with his own tray of food.

"Hey there." Takato replied.

"How've you been?" Henry asked.

"Not too bad. Guilmon and Renamon have really helped."

"I'll bet. How's the arm?" Henry said, motioning to his friend's still-bandaged right forearm.

"Nearly healed; it's just a little sore."

"Takato, I can't help but think – now that the situation with BlackWarGreymon has been resolved, I wonder if the bio-emergences are going to start up again."

"I thought about that, too. I asked Yamaki if he could develop a way to send them back safely."

"That's not really what I meant. Are you prepared to start it all up again?"

"After I swing by home after school, I'm headed over to Hypnos to talk to Mr. Mizuno. I hope you can come along, because I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."

"You didn't really answer my question."

"I'll answer it there. I've been thinking about a lot of things the past week."

Henry nodded, accepting it for the time being.

"Alright, I'll be there. What time?"

"He's expecting me around 4:30."

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

3:40 PM

When Guilmon heard the side door open, he completely forgot about the Guilmon Bread he was currently eating. Dropping it on the counter, he ran to greet his Tamer. Takato had learned not to keep anything fragile in his backpack, for this very reason. He barely had both feet in the door before Guilmon came down the hall and plowed into him. A split second later, they were both on the floor.

"Takatomon!" the dino greeted gleefully.

"Okay, boy, okay. I'm glad to see you, too." Takato grunted

Guilmon finally let him up, Takato removed his shoes, and the two of them went to the kitchen, where Mei and Renamon were still at work. Guilmon picked up his half-eaten bread loaf of himself and continued devouring it.

"Hi, hon. How was school?" his mom asked.

"Not bad. How's business been?"

"Decent. I've had some great help today. Maybe I should officially hire these two. I already know what to pay Guilmon in."

Mei decided to omit that Guilmon had swiped some of the cream puffs, as Takato had told the dino numerous times to eat only what was given to him, and that the top of the oven didn't count as given. Guilmon had told Mei; and Takato at an earlier time, that whenever he saw food, his brain 'went all funny', so they usually let it slide whenever it happened.

"I wonder how Yamaki is coming along with your request." Renamon said.

"I'm sure he'd let me know if there was any significant progress."

A few days ago, as Takato was still recovering, Yamaki had called to check up. Takato said he was doing fine, and asked Yamaki if he could do him a big favor.

"Name it." the Hypnos director replied.

A lot had happened in the past three months, and without a doubt, Takato's outlook on his duties as a Digimon Tamer had changed. He asked Yamaki if there was any feasible way to send a bio-emerged Wild Digimon back to the other side without harming it or destroying it.

"It's certainly plausible, but why the concern? It's never come up before."

"It's just that…well, what if some of these Wild Ones are crossing over looking for a Tamer?"

"You should probably talk to Shibumi on that front. He'd be able to help you more than I could. But I'll start to see what I can do for you."

Takato didn't really know what to expect. He was hopeful, yes. But would anything be able to be done?

HYPNOS AGENCY TOWERS

4:20 PM

Takato, Guilmon, and Renamon arrived at the Hypnos Towers 10 minutes ahead of schedule because his dad always told him that to be early is to be on time. When he got to the small office that Shibumi's secretary had directed them to, he discovered that Henry must've been told the same thing, having been there for five minutes already. Shibumi Mizuno walked in, Yamaki right behind him, at half-past.

"I know what we planned to talk about today, Takato, but Yamaki said that something that has very recently come to light needs to be discussed ASAP." Shibumi said, apparently not wasting anytime.

"Alright, no problem; what's up?" Takato asked, as they all got situated in their seats.

"I'll get right to the point, Takato. We've discovered a way to modify the Juggernaut program, in such a way that we can safely sever the connection between our world, and the Digital World."

Takato's heart skipped a beat.

"What…?"

"I know it seems like we'd be doing what we just stopped BlackWarGreymon from doing, but now, we are positive we can separate the two worlds, and worldwide communication wouldn't be affected. The Bio-emergences would cease entirely."

"Have you even _thought_ about the Digimon?" Takato said, rather forcefully. Yamaki began to get the hint that he may have just struck a nerve.

"Takato, I thought that you wanted me to find a way to send them back safely."

"Yes, send them back, not stop them from coming!" Takato nearly yelled, jumping from his seat.

"Takato…am I missing something here? With what you've been through, I would think you'd want to stop the fighting."

Takato took a breath, and took his seat. He turned to Henry.

"To answer your question from earlier today, no, I'm not ready to start again." he said, shaking his head. "There has to be another solution than just endless fighting. Do you really think they cross over for no reason?"

"No, I think they have reasons, and not all of those reasons are good. Like the Parasimon…?"

Henry had a point, but…something still seemed wrong.

"I care about Guilmon and Renamon so much, and I know you care just as much about Terriermon. Our bond; our relationship with our partners, make them some of the closest companions we'll ever have. And every time we go deal with a Wild One, we're putting those relationships at risk."

"So what exactly is the problem here, Takato?"

"The _problem_, is that even though I don't want to fight anymore, I'm not willing to seal the two worlds off from each other. Guilmon and Renamon are two of the best friends I'll _ever_ have."

"What is your point, Takato?" Henry asked. Takato turned to him.

"Henry, what if Terriermon wasn't able to cross over from the game? What would you have done?"

Takato didn't give his friend a chance to answer before turning to Renamon.

"How did you find Rika, Renamon? Why were you looking for a Tamer?"

"I felt that there was something more, waiting out there for me."

"What if you hadn't been able to cross over to her? Do you even want to think about where you'd be now?" Takato turned back to Yamaki.

"What I'm trying to say is, yes, some of the Digimon are violent. Sometimes we know the reason they cross over; they don't hold humans in the highest regards. But sometimes, they might just be frightened; acting on instinct. They are, after all, in an unfamiliar world. What if they cross over to find a Tamer? Someone they can form a friendship with? I don't ever want to deny anybody that opportunity; human or Digimon."

Yamaki didn't immediately reply, as Takato did have a point.

"Takato, I wish it was as black and white as you put it, I really do. But just as you have a point, so do I. People are scared. At the end of the D-Reaper crisis, we had six active and individually capable Tamers. We are now down to you two. But off the subject of dealing with bio-emergences, there's also another concern. Like you pointed out Takato, there are good and bad Digimon. But there are also good and bad people. Shibumi tells me that its our dreams and wishes that bring Digimon and humans together as partners, and not-so-good people have dreams and wishes, too, most often to their own ends. What would happen if a morally bad person and a Digimon with a chip on their shoulder found a mutual partnership in their selfishness? The Shinjuku Tamers saw how violent the Digital World is, and that violence is continuing to seep into our world."

"What's your point? The Devas started to show up because our violence was going into their world, too. This world isn't above the Digital World in _any_ aspect. Last time I checked, humanity's been killing each other since the dawn of time, sometimes over the most trivial things. Perhaps _we _don't need the connection to the Digital World to survive, but maybe the Digimon _do_. In one way or another, we created their world, and I will not support any attempt to lock it away."

Each side had its point, and the conversation was going nowhere. Yamaki broke the silence.

"I believe that we'd need world peace on both sides before this debate could be successfully settled. Thank you for bringing that to my attention, Takato. If we did seal off the worlds, I doubt that you'd be the only one outraged. This is a very complicated situation we have here, and it's going to take a very complicated solution, if one even exists. I'll continue to look into your request, Takato. If we find something, perhaps that will relieve some of the strain on Tokyo, and indeed, the world."

There was nothing left to be said, and Shibumi figured that the talk they were planning on having had more or less taken place in the conversation they had just had, so they left to resume their jobs, leaving Takato, Henry, and their partners to see themselves out. Takato sat silently in thought.

World peace…such a thing wouldn't seem possible to most. But to Takato…if kids and monsters could form friendships; see each other through thick and thin…then anything seemed possible.


	4. What Do We Stand For?

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 4 - What Do We Stand For?

DOWNTOWN SHINJUKU - EN ROUTE TO MATSUKI BAKERY

5:05 PM

Henry walked along side Takato with Terriermon hanging off his shoulder. Guilmon and Renamon kept pace behind their Tamer.

"You kinda went off in there, Takato."

"Yeah, and I had good reason. I ask Yamaki to do one thing, and he goes off and does another."

It was apparent that no one had left that 'meeting' on a particularly good note. True, Henry was also taken aback by Yamaki's suggestion to 'safely' seal off the worlds from each other. Even though Yamaki claimed there was no risk, Henry knew there would be unforeseen consequences, on both sides. He had just been a bit more reserved than Takato had chosen to be.

"Maybe we have to look at this situation as if we _weren't_ Tamers." Henry suggested.

"How do you suggest we do that?"

"Yamaki's right - people are scared. If the bio-emergences start up again, and pick up to their regular pace, then you and I will be very hard-pressed to keep this area safe. And he also brought up another good point - what if someone who wasn't so moral got a partner? Do you have any idea what kind of chaos could be brewed from situations like that?"

"Henry, I honestly can't see that happening. It doesn't work like that…"

Doubt crept into Takato's last sentence. Whenever Takato tried to look ahead for a solution to this little problem they had on their hands, all he saw was uncertainty.

"I sincerely hope it doesn't. If something like that ever happened, it would destroy everything we represent and stand for."

"What _exactly_ do we 'stand for', Henry? As far as some out there are concerned, even with the D-Reaper, we're still just playing some stupid game."

Henry wasn't comforted by the realization, but it was true. Even though the Tamers had risked life and limb to defeat the D-Reaper, some still refused to see it any way but their way. Even though there were several hundred worldwide now, the Digimon Tamers still represented less than a tenth of a percent of the world's population.

What was it that made a Digimon seek out a human companion? Takato thought back to their first conversation with Shibumi, about how dreams and wishes bring humans and Digimon together; how perhaps Guilmon 'dreamed' his data into existence, and he simply became aware of him.

'_But if he didn't exist, how could he dream himself up?'_ Takato wondered. He thought back as hard as he could to that day he was late to school. When he had spilled his cards, the blue card appeared among his collection as it fluttered to the ground. Was he subconsciously _wishing_ then? What about when he was standing outside Ms. Asaji's class, when he had first reached into his pocket to grab his pens and notepad…

When Guilmon had first came into his imagination.

'_Yeah, that works. Red is definitely a power color. I'll give him the strongest attack ever, no one'll expect that, especially from a Rookie. I'm gonna make him even better than Agumon! I'll call it 'Pyro Sphere'!'_

What about then? Deep down, was he wishing Guilmon into reality hours before he had scanned the drawings with his Digivice?

"_If I am right, then this thing is a real Digivice! Which would make me…"_

That wasn't subconscious that night - right as his drawings met that slot, he had made a wish.

_I wish Guilmon was real._

The 'DigiGnomes' had granted that wish, as a DigiEgg appeared on the screen seconds later.

So what about someone whose dreams and wishes only revolved around personal lust and greed? Someone who cared only about themselves, and, perhaps, in a pinch, would sacrifice or abandon their partner without a second thought?

Takato slowly shook his head. The DigiGnomes wouldn't grant those kind of wishes.

Would they…?

Perhaps that was why Digimon chose children as partners. Not only because they fight with their hearts and souls, as Yamaki had put it; but also because to a child, nearly all the world to them is dreams and wishes. Takato was well aware of how much time he had spent with his head in the clouds. Perhaps there was more to it than that; children still have that glorious thing called _innocence_. Sure, fighting and arguing with a sibling was one thing, but to _not care_ about anyone but yourself…children weren't like that. To be at that age where world hadn't yet opened you to the full and complete evils of greed and selfishness…it was a wonderful time, and sadly a time that is much too short-lived.

'_Maybe a Digimon partner's meant to prolong that time.'_ Takato wondered. Was he to be a Digimon Tamer for life? Would that be his occupation? Would the Tamers worldwide band together into an organization to protect the world from Wild Ones until they were too old to slash cards? Would he get a check every week for 'defending the world from the digital menace'?

Is that what his friendship with Guilmon and Renamon stood for…?

No, it was deeper than that. They had to be meant for something more than just patrolling, being ready for the next bio-emergence. There had to be something more…because Takato honestly didn't want a life of just fighting off Wild Ones. His relationship with his partners was worth far more than that - especially when your perception of life; perception of the world, could change in a heartbeat.

He recalled such a moment, not too long ago, when he stood all alone, and he was so sure his days as a Tamer were over…

Regardless of his objections, Takato knew that separating the two worlds would still remain a very real possibility. What he needed was another point of view; the opinion of someone who was no longer there with him.

She _was_ there, in his heart…

'_Whenever you need me, just look inside.'_

…so what did his heart tell him…?

"What _do_ we stand for, Henry?"

Takato wouldn't get an answer before the two friends parted ways to go to their separate homes for the evening. It was quite a difficult question.

Right now, Takato could think of nothing harder to answer…


	5. Gogglehead's 14th

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 5 - Gogglehead's 14th

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

THE NEXT MORNING

6:50 AM

Takato downed the last of his breakfast at the table as his dad carried out several empty pallets, and his mom was starting to get out the various ingredients and preheat the ovens, preparing them for the next 10 hours of baking.

"Have a nice day, hon!" Mei called out as her son left for his second day back to school. Then, about five minutes later, when she was sure he was well on his way, she and Takahiro made his partners aware of their plans for today.

"We're not opening today." Mei said, much to Renamon's surprise. The last time she closed the bakery was when Takato went into that coma after Rika was shot.

"We've told all our regulars - and we'll put up a CLOSED sign for the one's who may not know."

"Know what?" Guilmon asked, Renamon's curiosity also sparking.

"It's Takato's birthday today. It was kinda hard not to say anything before he left, but we've been planning a surprise party for when he gets home from school. Renamon, I need your help, and Guilmon, you go with Takahiro."

She got nods from both Digimon, and so they went about making their preparations for the surprise party. As Takahiro was gathering the ingredients for the cake, an idea dawned on the red dino.

"Hey, I've got an idea!"

SHINJUKU MIDDLE SCHOOL

8:25 AM

Takato walked into Ms. Asaji's classroom, and set eyes on his desk. There was a white envelope on it. He figured it was a card from somebody, today was his birthday after all. Sitting down at his desk, he opened the envelope, and opened the card inside. It read:

_Hey there, Chumley._

_We heard about the business on top of the Hypnos towers last week. It's awesome that you got Guilmon back. We hope you're well on the road to recovery, and happy birthday!_

_Kazu and Kenta_

Takato smiled. They must have arranged with Ms. Asaji to have it delivered today. Fourteen…how things had changed since this day one year ago. He thought back to the good times and bad, seeing how they helped him mature and grow. After several moments of reflection, he brought his focus to the front of the room as Ms. Asaji began her first lesson of the day.

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

2:30 PM

"There, looks like we're finally done. Thank you, Renamon. I couldn't have finished it without you."

"I'm all too happy to help. I know he'll love it."

So Mei and Renamon carefully prepared their gift to Takato, and wrapped it. Just in time, too; the surprise party was just hours away. They had kept the bakery closed today in order to prepare this time for him, and they had to be a bit sneaky about doing so; they didn't want to tip Takato off as to any reason why they would be closed. A surprise party, after all, was most effective when it was a surprise.

Mei noticed one of her photo albums she had gotten out. She was planning on looking at it earlier today, but she wanted to get her gift finished, and was able to do so with Renamon's help.

"Well, we have a bit, so what do you say we have a look, shall we?" Mei said; picking up the photo album with 'TAKATO' embroidered on it, and set it down on the table, sitting down, and inviting Renamon to join her. Renamon, accepting the invitation, took a seat in the chair next to her; as she flipped open the cover, to the first page of photos.

The first few photos were of him as an infant; days old, just out of the hospital. He was adorable, as nearly all babies were.

"I really can't say it was an easy time then. Takato was just born, and we were just beginning to start opening the bakery. Takahiro had had more than his share of the corporate business world. We both had baking experience, but you really never know where a new business is going to take you."

Mei turned the page, and both of them instantly noticed the first picture on that page. He looked to be about 2, and he was sitting in a high chair, and was apparently trying to put some spinach up his nose. Mei chuckled.

"It must not have been easy," Renamon began, "tending to both him and your business at the same time."

"No, it wasn't. But somehow, I managed." Mei said, chuckling a bit more at the picture.

On the adjacent page, there was a picture of Takato, and his older cousin Kai, wrestling when they were younger. Takato didn't look like he was enjoying it too much, while Kai had a victorious smirk on his face as the picture was taken. As they flipped through the pages, they saw Takato Matsuki come of age.

One of the later photos was just one of Takato lying on the couch, watching an episode of Digimon on a Saturday morning.

Rika had more or less mentioned the show to Renamon on one occasion. While she did watch it for the two years it was on, she quickly became far more interested in the card game. Renamon quickly realized that Takato, however, had grown far more in love with it – his goggles were a testament to that. But, perhaps ironically, with everything they've been through, most of the Tamers now took the goggles as Takato's trademark, and not Davis' or Tai's.

"At first, I thought he had just become interested in another kid's cartoon. I had no idea he would become so enamored with it. But sure enough, that Christmas…" Mei said, turning the page. There was another picture, of Takato, about 10 or 11, sitting in front of the Christmas tree, with a new Digimon t-shirt on, and it looked like he had just opened several Digimon Card Game booster packs. Next to him was a new Digimon action figure. The smile on his face made him look like the happiest kid in the world.

Mei turned another page. Here was a much more recent photo – of Takato, Henry, and Rika on a raft in Okinawa.

"When he was packing for Okinawa, he asked for the biggest suitcase we had. I couldn't imagine why." Mei commented.

Renamon recalled her and Rika's sudden, unexpected trip to Okinawa. It was a beautiful place, and was glad they had stayed a bit after that whole thing with Gulfmon was resolved. Mei flipped over to the last page of the album. There were just 2 pictures. The first was of him and Guilmon, wrestling on the floor of his room. Their expressions made the situation clear - two best friends reunited.

"That was right after Guilmon came back after that whole D-Reaper mess." Mei said. Renamon stared at the photo, recalling Rika's reaction when Renamon slid open the door to her room, wanting to surprise her. She had leapt over her small table and jumped right into her arms. A reaction, slightly more controlled than what she saw on the page. She let out a short snicker.

The last picture was him and Guilmon, out in front of the bakery, sampling some fresh Guilmon Bread. That had been just a few weeks before they went down to Egypt…

"Guilmon's the best thing that ever happened to him. Part of me isn't surprised, that he became a Tamer; with how passionate he was about the show and everything."

She turned back one page.

"But that's the only picture I have of him and Rika…" Mei said sullenly, running her fingers over the laminated Okinawa photograph.

Renamon silently agreed to what Mei was thinking; their time together had been much too short-lived. Rika had never been photogenic; she had told Renamon about that one time her mom had forced her to that photo op. She believed it was the events during and after their first trip to the Digital World that her 'partnership' with Henry and Takato truly turned into a friendship, save for when Takato accidentally put hearts on 'Rika's' message to her mom and grandmother. After the tragedy in Egypt, that friendship was just beginning to go one step further with Takato…

Mei slowly closed the album before the mood between the two of them got too gloomy. Today, after all, today was supposed to be a joyful day. It wasn't everyday her son turned 13.

"Alright – let's see how Takahiro and Guilmon are coming along with that cake."

SHINJUKU MIDDLE SCHOOL

CAFETERIA - 11:45 AM

Takato began to get the feeling that something was off. By the time he had been through the line and was sitting down with his food, the penny dropped - Henry wasn't here.

His friend had always been uptight about his grades. In fact, Takato couldn't last remember when Henry had missed school. But other than his friend's absence, the lunch period was uneventful. On his way back to class, as well as after school, Takato was unable to spot Henry in the halls. So his walk home was a little lonesome.

MATSUKI BAKERY

3:15 PM

As Takato walked up the street to home, he began to get the feeling that something was not right. His concerns were realized when he spotted a sign in the front display window.

CLOSED.

That was a first. Takato ran around to the side door. Entering the bakery, the lights were off; the only light entering from the front display windows. He dropped his backpack and made his way into the kitchen.

"Mom? Dad? Everything okay?" Takato called out, coming into the kitchen doorway and flipping the light switch.

As soon as the lights were on, five figures jumped up from behind the center counter.

"SURPRISE!"

"Wha-?"

There, at the counter, stood his mom, dad, Guilmon, Renamon, and Henry and Terriermon.

Takato was taken completely aback as it took him a second to realize what was going on.

"You didn't actually think we forgot, did ya?" his dad asked jokingly.

The smile on Takato's face became wider and wider.

"I was wondering where you were today." he said to Henry.

"I left just as lunch was starting. How else were we gonna pull this off?"

Takahiro opened one of the ovens, and brought out a freshly backed cake. He brought it to the center counter. Takato laid eyes on it as his dad prepped a knife and plates.

Happy 14th Birthday Takato

Son, Partner, and Friend

"Well, you know what to do - make a wish." his mom said.

Takato stared at the 14 individual plumes of fire. They danced swiftly with the soft breeze that migrated through the bakery.

After looking thoughtful for several moments, Takato glanced at his partners, and with one prolonged gust of air from his lungs, he extinguished the flames.

Takahiro cut a square piece, put it on a plate, and served it to Takato. He then prepared other plates as his son took his first bites.

It had been the same every year - the same, simply delicious, moist chocolate cake. But there was just something different this time. He wasn't sure what it was, but this cake tasted ten times better than it ever had before.

They all went to the dining room table and enjoyed the cake. After everyone had finished their piece and Guilmon had finished his third, the party was moved to the living room. They seated Takato on the floor in the middle of the room, while Mei, Renamon, and Henry went and got their wrapped gifts that they had placed upstairs.. Guilmon and Takahiro, the latter sitting in an upright recliner, with the former on the floor next to him, appeared to have nothing - but his dad was responsible for the cake.

Henry came back with a small, hand-sized box, and Mei; Renamon following, returned with a much larger box. Mei took a seat on the sofa with Renamon, while Henry brought in a chair fro the kitchen. He was the first to give Takato his gift.

"Here ya go, happy birthday."

Takato accepted the box and removed the gift wrap. He took off the lid, and inside the tissue-paper-lined box, were a dozen modify cards. Takato took them out and fingered through them.

Stone Armor, WarGreymon's Brave Shield…

All of them were defense-related.

Takato got the message and smiled up at his friend.

"Thank you, Henry."

"Don't mention it."

Mei was next.

"This is from Renamon and me" she said, handing over to Takato the lap-sized box. Takato slowly removed the delicately tied bow and gift wrap, and removed the lid off of the white cardboard box."

"Oh, wow." Takato said astonishingly, lifting and unfurling a beautiful double-layered fleece blanket. One side was a rich purple, and the other was white. The edges of both colors were cut into strips and tied together, making the double-layer blanket. In one corner on the purple side was a silver embroidery.

From Mom and Renamon

With All Our Love

"It's beautiful. Thank you so much." Takato said, draping the blanket over his shoulders.

"If it weren't for Renamon, I wouldn't have finished it in time." Mei said.

"What about Guilmon? What has HE contributed to this occasion?" Terriermon interjected.

"Terriermon…" Takato said, beating Henry to the chastising remark. His expression changed to a soft smile.

"Guilmon has already given me more than enough. We've had plenty of adventures together, and his friendship is something I won't ever forget. He's a dream come true.

"Aww, thanks Takatomon. But who says I didn't get you anything, huh?" Guilmon said, shooting a glance at Terriermon, who just shrugged.

"Your dad helped me with it."

Takahiro got up from his seat.

"Yeah, I did, but it was Guilmon's idea, and it's the thought that counts."

He went into the kitchen, and returned a few moments later with a baking sheet of a dozen identical gingerbread cookies. They were each shaped like a head with spikey hair. Takato wouldn't have gotten the hint, were it not for the blue and yellow frosting on each one, outlining the shape of goggles.

"Takatomon Bread!"

Takato laughed, an open-mouth smile forming on his face. He then fell silent, his shoulders heaved, as the emotion that had been building up finally spilled over, and tears fell from his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Guilmon asked.

"I just - I don't know what to say." Takato said, adjusting the blanket on his shoulders.

"Well I do, silly - happy birthday."

Takato chuckled again, wiped the tears from his eyes, and embraced his partner, then accepted one of the cookies, taking a bite.

It was almost magical. The cookies tasted that much sweeter, and the blanket kept him that much warmer, because of the incredible thoughtfulness his loved ones had put into what would've otherwise been such simple gifts.

"Okay, I want to get a picture of you, Guilmon, and Renamon." Mei said, getting her digital camera ready. Guilmon took a seat next to Takato, and Renamon got up, and went over to him, taking a knee next to her Tamer. They both put their arms around his shoulders.

Mei focused the camera, pressed a button, and there was a flash. Afterwards, she looked at the LED.

"Perfect."

A few hours were spent on board games, as they finished the rest of the cake and cookies. As they came into the evening hours, they started a movie.

As the film ended, and the sun dipped below Shinjuku's horizon, Mei and Takahiro saw their son asleep, leaning on Renamon, with his new blanket covering him. Guilmon rested his head on his Tamer's lap.

"We should get him up to bed." Mei said.

Renamon gently nudged Guilmon to let him know to get up without disturbing Takato. Renamon carefully picked her Tamer up and carried him upstairs to his room. She set him in bed and adjusted his new fleece blanket, then draped his twin comforter over him as well. Being a heavy sleeper, Takato wasn't disturbed as Guilmon climbed up and curled up at his side.

Renamon smiled.

Today had been a good day.


	6. The Raging Fire

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 6 - The Raging Fire

Takato awoke with a start, and immediately found it very difficult to breathe. Everything was hazy. He rolled to the side of the bed, crawled over the railing, and fell to the floor.

He didn't immediately get up, as his instincts told him it would be best to stay as close to the floor as possible. He slowly lifted his head to see what was going on. Black smoke seeped in from the door.

He fought back the panic. Grabbing his goggles and strapping them on over his eyes, Takato went into a low crouch, and keeping his breathing to a minimum, made his way over to the door and slid it open.

The smoke in the hallway was thicker. Takato pulled up his pajama top's collar up over his nose and mouth, and moved towards the stairs.

"Mom? Dad? Guilmon, Renamon?" he called out. He saw the flickering orange light of fire emanating from downstairs. He quickly checked his parents' room, and then moved down to the ground floor. He coughed from the thickening smoke.

There were small patches of fire everywhere - but nothing that immediately threatened the structural integrity of the bakery. In fact, as he stumbled through the kitchen, he couldn't tell where the fire had started. He ran through the kitchen doorway out to the lobby, and froze in his tracks.

BlackWarGreymon stood in the center of the lobby, looking down at the floor before him. At his feet, lay Henry.

He had three closely-knit stab wounds in his chest.

He wasn't moving.

To the right, against the register counter, was Renamon, who had apparently taken a beating.

"Takato...I'm...sorry. I wasn't...fast enough..." she said softly.

Takato was frozen in shock and fear.

BlackWarGreymon looked up at him, and charged.

Takato tried to jump out of the way at the last second, but the black-armored Mega anticipated the evade, and countered by backhanding him with his right Dramon Destroyer, smashing him through the store's front display window.

Takato rolled to a stop on the street, and groaned in pain as he got to his feet. His eyes widened in horror.

All of Shinjuku was an inferno.

He didn't hear the roar of the fires that enveloped the cityscape; just the crackle of the local ones on his street. He turned back to the bakery. BlackWarGreymon marched through the shattered display windows. None of the figures in the lobby moved.

Takato took a few steps back as the menacing black dragon killer closed in on him. As much as he seemed to back up, it didn't feel like he was moving at all.

Just as the eight-foot tall behemoth leapt at him, Takato felt a gust of hot wind from behind. A crimson reptile tail lashed out at Takato's attacker, who was hit with the spiked bone tip. It completely reversed his momentum, knocking him back into the bakery and slamming him against the back wall of the lobby. Takato turned back to look at his savior. His blood froze.

"No...no not again..."

Megidramon, the manifested digital hazard within his partner, towered over the Tamer. Acidic saliva dripped from the dark dragon's maw. He let out a deafening, bloodthirsty roar, and the back of his throat glowed red, and he thrust his head forward, releasing a burning fireball, sending it raging towards his downed opponent in the bakery lobby.

"No!!" Takato screamed, only to have his cry overtaken by the impact of the flaming projectile, eradicating everything inside, and turning the bakery into a pile of flaming rubble. Takato stared in horror, and turned back to the dragon.

"Stop!!!"

Megidramon paused, and leered down at the overwhelmed boy. Takato then noticed that the dragon had something in it's claw, locked in a vice grip. Megidramon released it, and the figure dropped 20 feet to the ground, landing mere feet away from where Takato stood.

His mouth went dry.

"Beelzemon..."

The Mega biker was barely breathing - his body was burnt and bloody. Takato slowly approached the wounded dark angel, and knelt next to him. He wanted to throw up. Everything inside was churning. Then, he noticed someone approaching through the flames.

The silhouette became larger as it strode towards them, the backlight of the engulfing flames keeping his features blackened at a distance.

Takato stood, as the figure closed in, and his eyes widened.

It was himself.

He came up to the opposite side of Beelzemon, and stared at his shocked and bewildered counterpart.

He had such hateful determination in his eyes. He looked down at the badly injured Beelzemon, leaned down and grabbed one of the Digimon's double-barreled shotguns. Without the slightest hint of hesitation, he aimed at Beelzemon's chest, and pulled the trigger, spattering the concrete with blood.

Before he could react whatsoever, his other raised the gun at Takato, and leveled it at his head.

There was another deafening bang.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No!!!" Takato screamed, bolting up in bed, his chest and shoulders heaving. Both Renamon and Guilmon had been stirred by this. Roused, Guilmon sat up, Renamon slowly approaching his bed. She realized what it was - another nightmare. They were becoming less and less frequent, but they still occurred, and when they did, they always shook him to the core.

"Are you okay, Takatomon?" Guilmon asked. Takato looked at the dino for a split-second, shuddered, then broke into sobs, falling into his partner, wrapping his arms around him, clinging to him as if for dear life. Guilmon hugged his shuddering Tamer, albeit carefully, as his strength was considerable. He rubbed his back, trying to soothe the distraught boy.

"It's alright, Takatomon. Everything's okay. I'm here."

Renamon took the initiative to go down and get Takato some hot tea. She met Takahiro and Mei at the top of the stairs.

"Is he okay?" Mei asked. Renamon nodded.

"Yes, he's fine. Another nightmare."

In the days after Takato lost Guilmon in Egypt, the nightmares were quite common - his lack of sleep soon became physically apparent. After Rika died, and Renamon became Takato's new partner, their frequency very slowly began to dwindle. But their severity was unwavering - every single time, Takato woke up in a sweat; shaken and traumatized. This was indeed the hardest part of the boy's recovery, as this was something completely out of their control. Renamon went down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea while Mei went down the hall to check on her son.

Ten minutes later, Renamon returned to his room with a steaming cup of tea. She again laid her eyes on Takato. He still had his arms around Guilmon, and the dino was still holding him gently. Guilmon gave her a barely audible 'shh', and it was then that she realized that Guilmon had gotten Takato back to sleep, tears still pricking his eyes, his chest and shoulders rising and falling steadily. Renamon set the cup on the desk, went over to the bed, and together, they gently laid Takato back down, draping his new fleece blanket back over him. Guilmon, wanting to try his best to comfort him for the rest of the night, brought his head to rest on Takato's chest, soon falling asleep to his Tamer's hypnotic breathing.


	7. Sick Day, Part I

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 7 - Sick Day, Part I

A/N - I apologize for the long delay in between updates - I'm amazed by how quickly things get away from me.

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Takato seemed more reluctant than usual to the pokes, nuzzles, and licks from his partners as encouragement to greet the new day.

Before long, Renamon had enough, swiped the blankets off him, wrapped her arms around his barely roused figure, and warped down to the bedroom floor, where Takato suddenly found himself in a standing position, and became very dizzy and disoriented, falling to the floor.

Renamon then took notice that he didn't look well.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Her Tamer groaned.

Mei entered the room with intentions to get her son up and ready for school, and saw the scene on his bedroom floor.

"Mom, did you turn down the heat last night? It's freezing in here." he said.

Mei came forward, leaned down, and placed a hand on Takato's forehead, and came to a conclusion in a matter of seconds.

"If you feel cold and your head's that warm, you definitely have some kind of bug. Get back in bed, I'll be back."

Renamon helped Takato get back in bed much more graciously than how she got him out of bed. Mei returned with an oral thermometer, revealing his fever of 102.

"Looks like you're not going anywhere today." Mei said.

Renamon assured Mei that she would look after Takato while she handled the business downstairs. She went downstairs and returned with a pair of fresh bread rolls and a hot cup of tea.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize you weren't feeling well before I got you up." Renamon apologized.

"It's alright."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"I meant about last night. It's been awhile since your last one."

Takato didn't really know what to say about his nightmares anymore. There was no preventing them, and there was no escaping them.

"Yeah, I'm alright. It's...it's just something I have to deal with."

"Well, I'm here if you want to talk about it."

Indeed, the two of them had already learned the lesson of keeping troubling feelings to themselves.

"Guilmon, you can go get some breakfast. Don't let me keep you."

Guilmon, who had been getting hungrier starting at Takato's bread rolls, jumped down off the bed and made his way downstairs to get something to eat.

Renamon stepped closer to the bed.

"It was Megidramon. He was burning the entire city. And BlackWarGreymon too. He had killed Henry. But there was also...me."

"You?"

"Not 'me' me, another me. He looked so vengeful. Megidramon mutilated Beelzemon, and he just walked up and shot him...and then me."

Renamon was confident that Takato had already reached a conclusion - that it was another nightmare playing off his past and present fears.

"I don't ever want to even imagine the possibility of myself doing something like that. Because there was a time where I would have. You were there..."

Renamon recalled the moments after Leomon's murder - the hate-filled rage that had overcome Takato and Guilmon, as they tapped the power of the Digital Hazard and it's effect on the digivolution process, turning his partner into the fearsome manifestation of the Hazard, Megidramon.

"That was the past. And no amount of nightmares changes the fact that it's the past. It's what you're afraid to become again, not who you really are, not who you are now."

Guilmon returned and immediately began to devour his fresh loaf of Guilmon Bread, while Takato sipped at his tea and continued his breakfast. Once he was finished, the under-the-weather Tamer itched for something to do. He quickly got down from his bed and went to his desk. He rummaged through the top drawer, found a few pencils, and returned to bed with his chosen utensils and a sketch pad.

As he put the tip of one of his pencils to his sketch pad, he realized he had no idea what to draw. Most of the time, something just came to him naturally, but today, he couldn't seem to focus.

Before he knew it, 20 minutes had passed, and he hadn't even made a line. Was this bug or whatever he had keeping his imagination back? It was a bit irritating.

The moment he set his sketchpad down on the bed, his Digivice down on his desk began to go off. His attention snapping to it, he descended the ladder and went to his beeping D-Arc, picking it up.

"A proximity warning." he said.

"Where?" Renamon asked.

"The subway" Takato replied, glancing out the window towards downtown. He set his Digivice back down on the desk, went over to his closet, and began to get dressed. Renamon immediately questioned him.

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like?"

"You're sick."

"And I don't think that Wild One is going to care."

"Henry can deal with it."

"True, but we're closer. Hypnos'll have to call the school and excuse Henry. If we go after it, it leaves less of a chance of people getting hurt. It's my duty. Especially when there are just two of us."

Renamon partly wanted to debate with her Tamer further, but she knew it was hopeless when he had his mind made up. Still, he saw his partner's concern. He walked back over to his desk, grabbed his Digivice, and slid open the patio door, preparing to make a stealthy exit.

"Come on, guys. What's the worst that could happen?"

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A/N - Have any thoughts or ideas regarding my ongoing stories that doesn't quite belong in a chapter or story review? I want to hear from YOU! Sometimes, nothing pushes me and my thought process more than another point-of-view; a second opinion.

.net/forum/milesprower06s_Forum/54449/

Stop by my profile forums, and share your thoughts and ideas with my. Your input is highly appreciated.


	8. Sick Day, Part II

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 8 - Sick Day, Part II

A/N - Ah, writer's block. It's a hassle sometimes. I really need to follow crazyeight's advice and do this more often.

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HYPNOS TOWERS – RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS BRANCH

11:00 AM

The research division of Hypnos was never very lively. In one particular office, Janyu Wong and Shibumi Mizuno sat in front of three monitors and a whole array of equipment set up at a large desk.

Not even two weeks had passed since the attempted 'hack' into Yamaki's Juggernaut program. When the EMP hit, and took their back-up generators down to absolute minimal levels, Shibumi had siphoned what little power there was to the rooftop scanning arrays. Whatever was going on up there, he wanted to know. He was still fascinated by the Human-Digimon Hybrid; the Tamers had called it Biomerging. But the scanners had picked up something even more interesting – a three-way Hybrid; Takato, Guilmon, and Renamon to be more precise.

When the 'official' report was documented, all three of them claimed that somehow, Takato had taken the final hit himself, explaining his hospitalization later that night. Takato said that he had willed himself to overlap Guilmon's and Renamon's data layers with his own, in order to protect them. Shibumi didn't wonder why, but _how_. How did Takato, willing or not, individually suffer a hit that had been delivered to a Hybrid made up of three?

Janyu pressed a few keys, and random numbers and equations began to scroll across the left-most monitor. To anyone who wasn't a Monster Maker, it might as well have been a really good screen saver, but to Janyu and Shibumi, these numbers were MagnaGallantmon's many layers of programming – its digital make-up.

"This is a simply massive amount of data…" Janyu commented, "Back during the D-Reaper crisis, Gallantmon didn't take up even a third of this."

Shibumi called up a record of Gallantmon's digital programming code on the middle monitor.

"Cross-referencing now."

It took the better part of three minutes, but when the cross-reference was completed, half of Gallantmon's code matched the first third of MagnaGallantmon's code.

"So that must be Guilmon's programming."

"Yes, and this is Takato's." Shibumi said, pointing to the second half of the Gallantmon code, which matched up with the second third of the MagnaGallantmon code. They marked the last third of the MagnaGallantmon code as Renamon's.

Shibumi brought up the rooftop footage on the right-most monitor. They only had a few precious seconds of clear footage, but it was the exact seconds they needed. They saw BlackWarGreymon phase in and out on cohesion. All in the next half-second, the black titan disintegrated; the fragments pieced back together at a center point, and shot forward at MagnaGallantmon.

Janyu paused the footage and reversed it frame-by-frame, until they came to the single frame that had captured the crimson beam ripping through MagnaGallantmon's chest. The scanners had caught that, too, and Shibumi brought up the frequency of the beam on the center screen, replacing Gallantmon's code. Both of them looked over the frequency at which the beam had been fired. Their eyes widened as they both realized what had occurred.

BlackWarGreymon had _aimed_ – specifically at one of the individuals that made up MagnaGallantmon. They double-checked the beam's frequency, and cross-referenced it with the MagnaGallantmon code.

"Takato…" Shibumi said."

"But, he said he had overlapped Renamon and Guilmon's codes."

"So did he succeed, or did BlackWarGreymon simply hit his mark?"

"Or both…?"

Both of them now realized that because of how everything had occurred, because of that one coincidence, there was no way of determining what exactly had happened.

"Alright, enough of that. Let's check on Yamaki's crew. I hear that they're finally making some headway on Takato's request."

DOWNTOWN SHINJUKU

The mid-day hustle and bustle of downtown Shinjuku seemed to alleviate Takato's dizzyness and fatigue. As he closed in on the subway station, there didn't seem to be any panic, or anything out of the ordinary, for that matter. Where was the "Fog" or white beam of light, the two most common signals of a bio-emergence? Not really knowing what to expect, Takato got his Digivice ready, and descended the stairs down to the boarding platforms.

Once down on the tiled floor of the main boarding platform, Takato kept his eyes peeled for anything unusual, ignoring the looks he got from passing subway passengers coming and leaving the station. There didn't seem to be anything wrong.

"Guys?" he asked, turning to his partners.

"Someone's here." Renamon affirmed, Guilmon nodding, equally attentive.

Guilmon then noticed something in the crowd waiting for the next train.

"Hey, look at that funny hat."

Takato glanced at what Guilmon was referring to, and was about to chastise his partner for being rude, but then noticed something familiar about bit.

He looked down at his digivice.

The arrow was pointing right through the crowd to the mysterious figure.

He slowly made his way through the crowd, wanting to know why the figure seemed familiar.

As the crowd continued to thin due to the prescence of a Tamer, Takato finally got a complete look at the figure in question, and gasped.

Without warning, the woman clad in a crimson dress turned swiftly, and with an outstreched arm, delivered a swift blow to Takato's chest, knocking him off his feet and sending him back several meters. Guilmon and Renamon moved into positions to defend their Tamer as he scrambled to his feet and gabbed his dropped Digivice. The remaining people in the subway quickly vacated the area in a panic.

The humanoid woman, face conecaled by a large hat, flowing white hair, and purple sunglasses, hunched over, and mutated into her true form.

The Digivice's analyzer came to life.

"Arukenimon. Ultimate level. Insect type. Faster than she looks, and her Spirit Needle catches most enemies off guard."

Prepared, Takato quickly grabbed the top card from his modify deck, pressed both buttons on his Digivice, and the screen blinked red and blue acknowledgement lights.

"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N_

"Guilmon digivolve to..."

"Renamon digivolve to..."

"Growlmon!"

"Kyuubimon!"

Growlmon didn't have a whole lot of room to move in the subway, so Kyuubimon had to make up for his immobility. Takato pressed the blue button.

"Digi-modify! Speed activate!"

Kyuubimon felt energy fill her legs, and she was ready to bound forward at a moment's notice.

"Are you going to sic your slaves on me, human?" Arukenimon spat out.

Takato paused, taken aback by the digimon's remark.

"They're not slaves."

"Pah! They follow your every step and follow your every command. What would you call it?"

"Partners." Kyuubimon interjected.

Arukenimon seemed genuinely disgusted. She eyed the two champions, watching for any sign of movement. She whipped her hands towards Kyuubimon.

"Spider Thread!"

Pink-purple webbing spewed forward from the Ultimate's palms towards the nine-tailed fox. Kyuubimon bound forward, her body turning into brilliant blue flames.

"Dragon Wheel!"

The raging blue flame spirit whirled around the webbing, evading the attack, and hit Arukenimon with a glancing blow before Kyuubimon rematerialized on the other side of the Ultimate.

"Pyro Blaster!"

Arukenimon now distracted, Growlmon let loose a fireball at her, impacting her in the side. But even though the champions outnumbered her, she was still stronger, and their attacks and tactics so far, proved to just aggravate her.

"Venom Mist!"

White smokey clouds vented out of her palms. Before the poisonous fumes became a serious threat to them and their Tamer, Kyuubimon used the modified speed boost Takato gave her to run circles around the Ultimate, creating a cyclone and effectively dissipating the mist.

"Digi-modify! Power boost activate!"

Takato had now slashed a boost card for Growlmon, making his advantage even more potent.

"Pyro Blaster!"

The large dino fired another projectile at Arukenimon. This time it was much more effective, knocking her off balance.

Suddenly, there came a hail of bullets from the direction of the stairs. Gargomon stood with Henry, ready to aid Takato in battle.

"Just in time!" Takato exclaimed.

"We thought _we'd_ make the late entrance this time." Gargomon smirked.

Henry drew a modify card.

"Digi-modify! Speed activate!"

The speed card had a dramatic effect on Gargomon's rate of fire, allowing him to pelt the Ultimate with a furious hailstorm of gunfire. Finally, they were gaining the upper hand. The tips of Kyuubimon's tails began to glow.

"Fox Tail Inferno!"

Nine blazing fireballs raged towards Arukenimon, impacting her, sending her slamming against the far wall and tumbling down onto the tracks below. As the dust settled from the attack, the three champions closed to finish the fight.

"Stop." Takato said, walking to the edge of the platform, staring down at Arukenimon, reverted back to her human form, weakened from the battle.

"They call you a Tamer. Is that what we are to you? Wild beasts in need of masters? Digimon _Slaver_ would be much more fitting." Arukenimon scoffed, getting to her feet. The group heard the faintest sounds of an approaching subway car.

"Even one of the Digimon Sovereign said he didn't understand why our Digimon chose to have human companions, but he put aside his views, and allowed them to return home with us. Make no mistake, I consider my Digimon equals – guides when I'm lost, friends when I need someone there, partners who'll stand by me until the very end. Can't you understand that?"

They all saw the light of the fast-approaching car, beginning to shine from around the bend. Arukenimon made no attempt to get out of the way. Her only move was that of her left arm, moving up, and ran her fingers through her locks of white hair. She closed her fingers around a handful of strands.

"I understand..."

The subway car came around the corner, and quickly closed in on the platform, and it wasn't making a stop here.

"...that you are weak!!!"

The strands of hair that she had taken a hold of glowed and straightened to a spear-like form. Moments before the subway car closed in, she broke them off and flung them at Takato. As Arukenimon disintegrated against the front end of the passing subway car, the dozen or so strands entered Takato's chest. His eyes widened, and his body began to go limp.


	9. Sick Day, Part III

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 9 - Sick Day, Part III

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HYPNOS TOWERS - REASEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BRANCH

12:00 PM

"And just how is this thing suppose to 'work', Yamaki?" Janyu asked, upon seeing the culmination of the Hypnos director's efforts.

It was a rifle of some kind. The design looked simple enough; compact, lightweight, and the firing mechanism appeared to be similar to that of a pump-action shotgun.

"Simple," Yamaki began. "A Tac-14 pump-action shotgun repurposed to fire these."

Yamaki held up a device that looked no bigger than a processor chip.

"R&D came up with this overnight. It's a reformatting chip. Theoretically, when this is fired at a Wild One, it latches on, disorienting them and reformatting their digital makeup - allowing for us to lock onto it and reverse the bio-emerge process with no aftereffects.

"Theoretically?"

"We haven't been able to test it yet."

A receptionist at the far desk turn towards Yamaki and his research group, a phone in her hand.

"Sir? The medical ward reports that they have a situation."

"What is it?"

"One of the Tamers, sir. Takato."

SHINJUKU STATION

15 MINUTES EARLIER

"Takato!!!" his partners and friend yelled. Henry rushed forward to catch him before he fell forward into the blindingly fast subway car.

Henry carefully lowered Takato down to the tile floor, the glowing needles embedded in his chest now dissolving. His breathing shallow, Takato quickly lost consciousness. Henry felt for a pulse.

"Takato, can you hear me?"

When there was no response, Henry sat his friend up and motioned for Renamon to pick him up.

"Get him to Hypnos, now!" he urged.

Renamon took her Tamer in her arms and faded from view. Henry, Terriermon, and Guilmon rushed out of the station, as fast as their feet would carry them towards the twin towers.

HYPNOS TOWERS

10 MINUTES LATER

The trio entered through the main doors and were quickly checked in. After a security checkpoint, they were given clearance to go down to the med ward in the basement.

While Hypnos originally had a small med ward, it wasn't well-equipped to treat a wide array of injuries. However, after the battle on top of the towers, Yamaki ordered the ward upgraded to ICU status. With how hard-pressed the two remaining Tamers were, and additional location where medical help could be sought would be more than welcome.

A short elevator ride later, they entered the room containing a handful of beds, operating tables, and arrays of medical equipment. They immediately noticed Renamon, at the foot of the first bed on the right.

In it, Takato lay unconscious. This was a scene none of them wanted to see again, so soon after the fight with BlackWarGreymon. They approached the bed.

"How is he?"

"They took a blood sample, they're screening it now." Renamon replied, her fear apparent in her voice. She grasped Takato's Digivice in her paws.

Shortly after, Yamaki and Janyu stepped off the elevator.

"Henry, what happened?" Janyu asked his son.

"A Digimon down in the subway. He was hit."

Someone from the medical staff returned from one of the enclosed offices. All eyes were on him as he approached the group. He got right to the point.

"He has an unknown pathogen in his bloodstream. It's putting serious strain on his respiratory system."

"Unknown?" Yamaki asked.

"I cross-referenced it with international databases - this has never been seen before."

"There's no vaccine? Nothing even close?"

"No such thing as something 'close'. Vaccines are unique, meant for the strains they were engineered to neutralize. They take months to develop, and if we administer the wrong one, that, _will_ kill him. Not that it would make a difference."

"What...?"

"If this pathogen isn't eliminated, his heart will stop - I'd say within a matter of hours."

A few seconds of silence passed as the situation sunk in.

"So there's nothing we can do..." Janyu said.

"I'm sorry."

Silence once more. Renamon's paws shivered around her Tamer's Digivice.

"We should call Takahiro and Mei." Janyu said.

"They can't deal with this right now, dad. There has to be something we can do."

"Their son is dying, Henry. There's nothing we -"

"I won't accept that!" Henry yelled, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

"Taomon." Renamon whispered.

"Huh?" Guilmon wondered.

"Taomon can neutralize the poison. But...but how do I digivolve? I can't use his energy - it would kill him. How...? There has to be a way."

"Me." Henry said.

"What?"

"Me. Use my energy. I'm the only other Tamer."

"But how?"

"Where there's a will there's a way. I know it usually takes time for a connection to form between Tamer and partner, but right now we don't have another option."

Renamon looked down at Takato's Digivice.

"We have to try." she said.

"You too, Terriermon. You normally share my energy."

The rabbit nodded.

Henry took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then folded his hands around his Digivice. He brought his hands to chest level, going into a meditating trance. Renamon did the same.

Henry focused his mind, thought back to when he first met Takato, remembered how new he was at being a Tamer, scrambling around the school grounds searching for Guilmon.

Renamon recalled when she first physically encountered Takato, in the park with Rika, and back to where she _truly_ first met him, floating above the streets of Shinjuku while she battled Lynxmon on that Rainy night.

Guilmon curiously looked up above the space above the meditating triangle - and was apparently the only one to notice the glowing white DigiGnome circling playfully above.

Henry took another breath, and placed two fingers on the top card of his deck. Upon his touch, the card glowed a brilliant white, changing to the blue metallic algorithm card. He slowly lifted it off the deck, and put the corner in the modify slot. He felt Renamon, her thoughts synonymous with his.

_'I want to help my friend.'_

He opened his eyes, and slid the blue card through.

"Matrix Digivolution!"

He felt Renamon's energy surge.

**M-A-T-R-I-X**

**D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N_**

"Renamon Matrix Digivolve to..."

"Taomon!"

There was a blinding flash of light, and in place of Renamon, stood her ultimate shaman form.

Taomon raised her arms up, and pulled back her right sleeve, uncovering her paw. She closed her eyes, brought her hand up to her forehead, and focused. She breathed in and out; her nails beginning to glow. With her fingers, she slowly drew a glowing hieroglyph in mid-air.

She took the hieroglyph in-between two fingers and placed it on Takato's chest, where it began to glow even more fiercely.

Taomon focused, keeping the spell intact as it worked it's mysterious forces on Takato. The hieroglyph glowed with more intensity. The ultimate's facial expression began to show signs of strain, but she persisted.

The blinding symbol on Takato's chest began to strobe, faster and faster, until it shattered. Taomon stumbled, reverting back to her Rookie form, and leaned on the bed, mentally exhausted from the maintaining of the spell.

Takato's eyes slowly opened. He slid his arm and placed his hand on Renamon's. Her gaze rose to meet his. He gave her a faint smile.

"Thanks." he whispered.

She placed an arm around his shoulders, sat him up, and embraced him, shuddering. Takato returned the hug.

"I'm alright."


	10. Love and Hate, Part I

**LOVE AND HATE**

**By milesprower06**

**Chapter 9 - Love and Hate, Part I**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------**

**A second screening of Takato's blood revealed the pathogen completely eliminated. His fever was gone as well.**

**A receptionist came on over the intercom.**

**"Sir? I have Mei Matsuki on line 2."**

**"Does she have any idea of the situation?"**

**"Uh, no, sir. I merely told her that Takato had checked in fifteen minutes ago."**

**"Alright, good. We'll take it down here."**

**"I'll talk to her." Takato said, getting up from the bed. "I really wasn't really supposed to leave today."**

**He walked over to a desk by the offices and picked up the phone and pressed a button to take the call from the bakery.**

**"Mom?"**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Based upon the tone in Takato's responses, it would seem that Mei was frantic. The conversation was shot, and less than a minute later, he hung up and turned towards the others.**

**"Well, we'd better get home. She's not happy with me."**

**"Takato, you should know that we have made progress on your request, and it's about ready to enter field tests."**

**"Glad to hear that."**

**"Especially after today." Henry added.**

**"Alright, let's hurry home, guys."**

**"If you want to hurry..." Renamon said, offering Takato and Guilmon her paws. They placed their hands in hers, and before fading, Renamon glanced at the blue-haired Tamer.**

**"Thank you, Henry."**

**"Don't mention. I'm just glad it worked."**

**And with that, the trio faded from view.**

**"I guess I should get back to school." Henry said.**

**"I'll get Terriermon home with me." Janyu said.**

**"Thanks."**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Because they had already been found out, they figured that traditionally walking in would be best.**

**Upon walking in, Takato announced "I'm home!".**

**Business must have been light at the moment, because Mei almost immediately came back through the kitchen doorway, a mixed look of worry and anger on her face.**

**"Guilmon, Renamon. I'd like a word with my son alone, please."**

**Renamon nodded, and she and Guilmon excused themselves upstairs, the latter giving his Tamer a worried glance before disappearing around the stairs. Takato and Mei stood by the side entrance in silence, for what seemed like an eternity.**

**"What were you thinking?" she said, just above a whisper."I'm...sorry, mom. But we had to deal with another-"**

**"You're sick."**

**"And I don't think that mattered to the Wild One, mom."**

**"What about Henry?"He wouldn't have been able to deal with it alone. I know that because I wasn't making any headway until he got there."**

**"You worried me sick. You didn't even tell me you were leaving."**

**"I'm really sorry. I knew you would've said no. But we're a team - we needed each other's help down there."**

**"Takato, really, how much can **_**two kids**_** do?"**

**"Not much. And maybe not enough. That's why I've asked Yamaki to try and find a way to send them back safely. Because I don't want to fight anymore.**

**"I hope it's soon Takato, I really do. Because I don't know how much more of this I can take."**

**With that, Mei returned to the kitchen to prepare for the mid-day customers, and Takato walked silently up to his room.**

**Upon entering, he saw his partners awaiting his return. He walked towards the window, and slumped down in his desk chair, and let out a long breath. He tried to get past the fact how lucky he was to still **_**be**_** breathing.**

**"Takato?" Renamon asked."Yeah?"**

**"Just, promise me you won't do that again."**

**Having developed a partial telekinetic connection with Takato in their time of partnership, she could tell that Takato still felt conflicted inside.**

**"If they cross over with destructive intent, there's not much that will sway them from that."**

**"I had to try..."**

**"Takato...do you realize what almost happened today? I don't even want to think about what would've happened if that Digivolution didn't work..."**

**Takato began to see how foolish his actions were just a couple hours ago. In all the time he had been a Tamer, in all the Wild Digimon he had fought...**

**They were all violent.**

**If things didn't change...**

**It wouldn't be top-level government directors suggesting the separation of the worlds.**

**It would be everyone else, **_**demanding**_** it.**


	11. Love and Hate, Part II

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

A/N: Once again, I apologize profusely for the delay in updates. I have been almost entirely focused on the fast-approaching Halo 3 ODST, as I am a die-hard Halo fan. I hope to have the rest of Love and Hate written, typed up, proofread, and submitted before the game drops on September 22nd. Please enjoy, and I'm sorry for making you wait.

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Chapter 10 - Love and Hate, Part II

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MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

1 HOUR LATER

When the lunch rush was over, Takato went downstairs and got himself something to eat and a glass of milk. When he returned to his room, he decided to try and put his partner's mind at ease.

"I'm......I'm sorry for what I did down in the subway. It's just that, I mean, what's the point of the fighting? Will there ever be peace between our two worlds?"

"No one can answer that, Takato. Action must be taken on that front."

"So what we need, I guess, is just a little luck."

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HYPNOS TOWERS

CONTROL DOME

Riley ran her hands over multicolored panel, and performed another sweep scan of downtown Shinjuku.

Being a frontline systems analyst wasn't the most glamorous job available, but she took pride in being Shinjuku's first line of defense against Wild Ones. It was almost as if her console was a natural extension of her body.

When a breach warning came through, she threw down firewalls to try and hinder the digital intruder. Granted, it didn't usually stop it entirely - something far enough along to trigger a breach warning usually came all the way through. But it slowed them down, which gave Hypnos time to alert the Tamers - the main defense against hostile Wild Ones.

But in recent months, Shinjuku's force of Tamers had been dwindled; more than cut in half, with several of them too young to be useful in a serious crisis.

Hypnos probably would've scrambled to implement different procedures to aid the remaining Tamers, but after what was referred to as the Cairo Emergence, breaches stopped by 95%. BlackWarGreymon had done something to weaken the connections between the worlds. Since Takato and Henry had defeated him, however, the connections began to heal, and the bio-emergences began to pick back up. That, combined with Takato's concern of not all Wild Ones having hostile intentions, that pushed Yamaki to task the R&D branch to design an alternate method to dealing with Wild Ones, since the Tamers also had educations to manage.

What also concerned Riley was one of the bio-emergences earlier today. Takato and Henry detected it, but it had defied detection by Hypnos' systems. It seemed some were getting better at avoiding being caught.

A warning sound bleeped on her console. She quickly tapped the keys.

"Sir, another breach is imminent."

"Another one? Already?" Yamaki replied.

"Yes sir, and it's big."

"Where?"

Riley performed a more detailed scan, and narrowed down a location.

"Right above us, sir. I estimate 15 minutes to breach."

Silence filled her headset, if only for a few moments.

"Get a hold of Takato and Henry."

"Sir, with what happened earlier today, do you think that's the wisest-"

"I don't think we have much of a choice."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Below the central sphere among the dozens of consoles, Yamaki scrambled to a phone and dialed an extension number.

"Shibumi - how many of those devices are ready to deploy for testing?"

"Um, six, sir. Each with a handful of shells."

"Get a security squad fitted, double-time."

--------------------------------------------------------------

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

Mei hung up the phone and came to the back door just in time to see Takato running down the stairs with Renamon and Guilmon.

"Stay right where you are, Takato."

"Mom, there's no time."

"I know - I just got off the phone with Riley. I don't want you to go."

A look of disbelief adorned Takato's face.

"I'm tired of worrying. I'm sick of fearing for my son's life every time another Digimon causes havoc."

Takato's expression changed from surprise to anger.

"I thought you understood; understood that I have a duty to this city and this world. You and dad raised me better than to neglect my responsibilities just because someone worries about me."

Mei took a step back, half-surprised, half admiring her son's aggressiveness in his words.

Tears pricking the corners of her eyes, Mei closed her eyes and stepped aside. After a moment's hesitation, Takato passed his mother and left the bakery, his partners hot on his heels.

Takahiro came back from the front to see what the commotion was about, and found his wife at the stairs, shoulders heaving. He put his arms around her, and she leaned into him.

"It'll be alright. He always pulls through. He's a Matsuki."

Mei released herself from the embrace.

"Close it down."

"What?"

"I won't let him do it alone. I'm going with him. I may not like it, but I have to show him that I still believe in him."

Mei took off her hairnet, grabbed her jacket, and exited the bakery, on her son's trail. Takahiro rushed to the front, locked the door, shut off the lights, and likewise went after his son.

OUTSIDE HYPNOS TOWERSENTRANCE PLAZA

Henry had been home from school about 5 minutes when Hypnos had called. He hurried over to the plaza, and saw a generating portal up between the two towers. His cell phone rang. He answered, keeping a watchful gaze on the portal above.

"Henry, we're not going to be able to close the portal. When it comes through, you need to hold it off until the squad is read with the test weapons."

"What about Takato?"

"I'm not sure if he's coming. According to Riley, Mei didn't seem happy."

"Alright, I'll do what I can."

Henry folded his cell phone closed. He knew Mei, just like his own parents, weren't always comfortable with their Taming duties. Still, he hoped Takato would come through. There was a shriek, and the portal exploded in fog.

The spreading fog was dissipated by a pair of enormous purple wings, and seconds later, the winged creature was in full view. Henry's D-Arc triggered it's analyzer function.

"Megadramon, Cybernetic Dragon Digimon. His Dark Shot and Double Dark Shot missile attacks are some of the most destructive techniques around."

He turned to Terriermon on his shoulder.

"Ready?" he asked, drawing a card, and it morphed to the metallic blue card.

M-A-T-R-I-X

D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N_

"Terriermon Matrix Digivolve to..."

"Rapidmon!"

The green-armored Ultimate immediately primed his weapons and took off towards Megadramon, who roared in defiance and rushed down to meet his opposition. He brought his two metallic launchers that served as his hands forward, the flaps opened, and the launch tubes began to glow.

"Double Dark Shot!"

A pair of cruise missiles burst out of his launchers towards Rapidmon, who was anticipating the attack.

"Rapid Fire!"

The two pairs of missiles tracked each other and impacted - exploding between the two airborne combatants. The gap closed between them increasingly fast. Moments before the inevitable collision, Rapidmon fired off a single missile near-point-blank range, and rolled to the side, missing Megadramon by mere inches. The dragon turned and pursued him.

Rapidmon made it a point to stay above Megadramon, so nothing was at risk when he had to avoid his missiles.

"Henry!"

The blue-haired Tamer looked behind him, and was relieved to see Takato running into the plaza.

"I was wondering if you were gonna make it."

"It's my responsibility."

Henry nodded, admiring his friend's determination.

"Yamaki says the weapon is ready for testing. We just have to keep him busy for a few minutes while the squad gets ready."

Takato nodded.

"Guilmon, Renamon - ready?"

His partners acknowledged, and Takato raised his Digivice.

"DNA Biomerge Activate!"

D-N-A

B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E

D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N_

As the egg of white light wrapped around him, he heard Henry yell.

"Takato look out!!!"

He heard a deafening bang, instantly followed by black smoke. Takato brought his arms up to shield his eyes. There was a strong gust of wind as Megadramon swooped down across the plaza, which began to clear the area of the smoke.

Takato's surroundings became visible again, and as he began to see further and further, he became shocked.

Renamon was 30 feet away, collapsed against one of the numerous planter boxes in the plaza. His parents were leaning next to her. She phased in and out of cohesion once, and then fell unconscious.

Takato was overcome with dread. Everyone he loved was in danger; his family, friends, and partners.

Megadramon hadn't been provoked at all - all he wanted to do was cause destruction.

Takato snapped out of his shock and anger washed over him.

"Guilmon, let's take him out before he hurts anyone else!"

He raised his Digivice to the sky once more.

"Biomerge Activate!"

B-I-O-M-E-R-G-E

D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N_

warning...

...

...

system anomaly present..._


	12. Love and Hate, Part III

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Chapter 11 - Love and Hate, Part III

-----------------------------------------------------------------

HYPNOS TOWERS

ENTRANCE PLAZA

Henry saw the ground around Takato and Guilmon turn red-hot, moments before a pillar of fire erupted skyward, engulfing the pair in flames. For a split-second, he fears for their saftey, then realized what was happening.

"No...it can't be. Not again."

Takahiro, Mei, and anyone else present who hadn't been in the Digital World looked on in awe.

Henry feared the worst.

There was a bloodthirsty roar from within the flames. Megadramon circled around the fiery pillar. Suddenly, a similar-looking dragon burst out of the dissipating fire, ramming Megadramon full force. Henry's Digivice activated it's analyzer, confirming his fears.

MEGIDRAMON

DARK DRAGON

MEGA LEVEL - VIRUS

Numerous thoughts rushed through Henry's mind, as the two dragons stared each other down in mid-air, brining a surprising pause to the combat.

This fight was now one-sided. Of this, Henry was certain. An Ultimate versus a Mega was no contest. But he was concerned for the well being of the pair that had combined and, instead of the simmering pearl knight, had somehow formed the Digital Hazard yet again.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Takato's eyes burned with anger, focused on the dragon opposite him. He was a threat that had to be removed. He was a mockery of everything the Tamer stood for. Yamaki's long-distant words echoed in his head.

_'This...thing...isn't capable of friendship.'_

Takato gave a battle cry, and charged.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Megidramon rushed forward, and the opposing dragon fired off a pair of missiles. They, and their subsequent explosions, did nothing to hinder the approaching Hazard.

Rapidmon flew to a safe distance, but held his fire, just as stunned as everyone on the ground was.

Once Megidramon was close enough, he lashed out with his tail, from the right side. This caught the Ultimate off guard, and Megidramon followed up with a left side strike to his enemy.

Having effectively stunned his enemy, Megidramon wrapped his tail around Megadramon, put him in a headlock, and went into a nose dive.

Henry, Mei, Takahiro, and Mei looked on as Megidramon prepared to slam his opponent full force into the ground. Having only a few seconds to react, Mei and Takahiro helped Renamon up and moved out of harms way. Henry likewise moved to a safe distance.

Megadramon was slammed into the middle of the plaza, shattering the stone walkway tiles, and enveloping the area in dust.

Blinded by the dust, they heard a blood-curdling roar.

The dust settled, and Megadramon was gone. All that remained were floating data particles, which Megidramon was absorbing.

Henry and the others heard the numerous thuds of approaching military boots. They turned towards the source of the sound to see a squad of six Hypnos SWAT units.

"Acquire the target!" the squad leader ordered. Weapons were raised and primed. Once Henry realized what they were going to do, his mind panicked.

"Wait, wait!"

Too late.

The squad fired their weapons, once in unison, and the projectiles hit Megidramon, and the towering dragon roared in pain.

It was clear that the devices fired from the weapons were electrocuting him. When their effect diminished, the Hazard began to stagger and sway. He then glowed red, and dissentigrated, leaving the two red digital spheres containing Takato and Guilmon, which then plummeted to the ground and shattered, releasing their occupants.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Takato awoke with a start, bolting up, finding himself on a simple cot in the Hypnos building's overnight sleeping quarters. Still breathing heavily, he took in his surroundings. Renamon, Guilmon, his mom, dad, Henry, and Terriermon were nearby.

"It's alright. Thankfully, this time, you were just out cold." Henry said, who was relieved that for once, Takato didn't wake up in a hospital bed. But this time, he looked like he had woken up from a nightmare.

"W-what...what happened?" Takato asked.

The lack of an immediate answer from anyone proved to him that it was no nightmare this time. It had really happened.

"It did happen. Megidramon..." Takato whispered.

"What went wrong, Takatomon?" Guilmon asked, worriedly taking a step closer to the cot. "What did I do wrong?"

"It wasn't you boy. It...it was me." Takato told his partner. admitting the truth to himself. He looked to Renamon.

"Are you alright?"

"I'll be alright."

Yamaki and Riley came in, and saw that Takato was awake.

"Takato, regardless of what happened, we'd like you to know that the weapon performed just as expected." Yamaki began.

"We had a perfect lock on you. We could have sent you anywhere, even to the Digital World."

Takato nodded, still noticeably shaken by what he realized had just actually happened.

"That's good news, I just...I think I need to be alone." he said, swinging his legs over to the side of the cot, getting up, and swiftly moved past his friends and family, exiting the room without another word.

"How long will it take to get these weapons deployed worldwide?" Takahiro asked.

"Once we get enough units modified, and the cartridges manufactured, we're looking at a worldwide defense force possibly within 6 weeks."

"The Tamers can finally be let off the hook..." Henry realized.

But was it soon enough...?

-------------------------------------------------------

HYPNOS ENTRANCE PLAZA

Takato sat on what of the concrete planters, cradling his Digivice, looking at his partial reflection in the screen.

_Fear. It was fear that had lead him down this path. He had been constantly afraid of losing Guilmon again. Afraid that the world would demand the separation of the Real and Digital Worlds. Afraid that he wouldn't be able to stop it._

_How dare he call Megadramon the mockery of what he stood for? HE had become the mockery. In his haste to protect his loved ones, he had put them all in danger. He could've waited, could've just held him back until the test squad was ready._

_But no, he needed to make Megadramon pay for hurting Renamon. He gave into his darkness and hate again, after what he had done to Guilmon the first time, he let it happen again. Because he was afraid._

He saw Renamon and Guilmon approach from his peripheral.

"Are you okay, Takatomon?" Guilmon asked.

Takato burst into tears.

"No...no boy, I'm not okay." he said through his sobs. From his quivering hands, he set his Digivice on the concrete planter beside him.

"I can't do it anymore." Takato said, getting choked up, and with that, got to his feet, and began walking home.

"Takato, wait." Guilmon said, but Takato kept walking, his shoulders heaving.

"What can we do to help, Renamon?" Guilmon asked the vixen.

Renamon picked up her Tamer's Digivice that he had left behind.

"I'm not sure there's anything we can do, Guilmon."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE

4 HOURS LATER

Janyu, Henry, and Terriermon joined the Matsukis for dinner that evening, save for Takato, who had come home in tears, and had been up in his room sleeping. Things were about to change fast, so they felt it appropriate to discuss it over dinner.

"So...where do we go from here?" Henry asked.

"It'll still be several weeks before we get enough security squads stationed around Tokyo for you two to be able to be relieved." Janyu said.

"Well, it may very well be just me. I'm...I'm not gonna try to talk Takato into holding out for a few more weeks. If he wants to walk away from it, after today, I'll respect his decision. He's been through alot. Too much, perhaps. I'll do what I can until then."

Although Renamon didn't quite want to agree with Henry, he was right. They had all lost Rika, but with how she had helped him through his initial grieving, it had hit him the hardest. This solution may have come just in time.

Or just a little too late.

"He'll come through." she affirmed.

"What if he's really been through too much, Renamon?"

"He also wouldn't abandon his friends. He's better than that."

"I hope so..."

ONE HOUR LATER

Renamon stood in the doorway to her Tamer's room, watching the figure laying in the top of the bed. At first, she was going to bring him up some dinner, but now felt that he'd sleep through the night.

She gazed down at the Digivice she held in her hands, wondering what the future held for them. Would he truly give up his Tamer duties in these last few weeks? And that was assuming that the weapons worked according to plan.

How could he let his anger overtake him again? Just because she got hurt? Did he care for her that deeply?

That was a foolish question. Of course he did. He loved her, just as she loved him. But did it go deeper than that? Perhaps he valued her as something more.

As Rika's legacy...?

It wasn't so farfetched for Takato to treasure their partnership as an ode to her former Tamer, and the person he had begun to develop feelings for.

So what did she treasure about Takato?

_'His smile,' was the first thing to come to her mind. His genuine smile could brighten up the cloudiest of days; the dreariest of moods._

She approached his bed.

_'His goggles. Gogglehead.' Renamon suppressed a laugh, remembering Rika's chosen nickname for the boy. Over his time as a Tamer, his chosen headwear has made him less of the 'Digimon fanboy', and gave him more and more of an identity of his own, rather than Tai or Davis. But most of all..._

She set the Digivice on the desk, and stood at the side of the bunk. She lightly ran the tips of her fingers through his hair.

'_His heart.' Absolutely, Takato's shining quality was his concern for his friends' and family's well being. This had also been his curse in the past weeks. His love for his partners, friends, and family, and his duties as a Tamer had collided, and the resulting choices and situations had gotten the best of him._

But she still respected any and every decision he made. It didn't matter if he seemed unsure of himself. She would back him and support him 100%. She would be there for him. No matter what choices he made, she would be there. That was her commitment to him.

She brought his new blanket up to his shoulders, making sure he was adequately covered, then she slowly leaned over, and her lips lightly touched his forehead.

"Good night, Takato."


	13. Epilogue

LOVE AND HATE

By milesprower06

Epilogue

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The fog of sleep slowly lifted from Takato, as the distant and muffled sound of a ringing phone reached his ears. As he sat up and rubbed his eyes, he heard his mom from down in the kitchen.

"Takato, phone!"

Takato made his way to the ladder, taking care not to disturb the still-sleeping Guilmon, and climbed down from his bed and made his way downstairs.

As he entered the kitchen, he saw the phone, off the hook, resting on the edge of the counter. His mom had resumed preparing bread for the morning customers. The clock on the wall next to the phone's base read 7:05 AM.

Who would be calling him this early? He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Takato! Sweet! I was hoping I'd get a hold of you, dude!"

Takato instantly recognized the voice as his excited, ecstatic cousin, Kai.

"Uh, hey there Kai. Nice to hear from you, but why so early?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that. Dude, I'm a Tamer!"

"Um, what?" Takato asked, still waking up, and working his way past his cousin's excited tone.

"I'm a Tamer, dude! This little guy calls himself Betamon. Quite an entrance too. He jumped out of the water and knocked me off the boat. When I got back on, he was sitting there, and one of those Digivice gizmos was there next to him. Man, this awesome!"

"Wow, uh, congratulations, Kai."

"I just know I'm gonna have sweet adventures with this guy! Finally, someone who loves the water just as much as I do! Hopefully you can get back here soon to meet him."

"I hope so too. I look forward to it."

"You know it! Alright, sorry I called so early, I just had tell you! I'll let you go and get some breakfast. Catch ya later, man!"

"Talk to you later, Kai."

Takato ended the call and returned the handset to it's base.

Wow. That was entirely unexpected. He grabbed a few fresh breakfast rolls, and returned to his room, where he ate with his partners.

"Who was that?" Renamon asked.

"Kai. Apparently, he became a Tamer."

As he ate, Takato thought back to his first days as a Tamer; how Kai's reaction had mirrored his own. The thoughts of adventures.

How quickly, it seemed, that they became serious life-or-death situations. At times, the choices seemed impossible.

His Digivice on the desk alarmed a proximity warning. Takato glanced up at it from his position on the floor. He seemed half-surprised, but half expecting to have it there waiting for him. It was so foolish to have just abandoned it there at the plaza. It was so much more than a status symbol as a Tamer - it was a symbol of the incredible and unbreakable bond he had with his partners. He got up and walked over to his desk. He picked up his Digivice and looked at it, his partial reflection in the LED staring back at him.

_Alright, so it was dangerous at times, and the choices got hard..._

_...but wasn't it still an adventure?_

_Maybe that was it. Whatever happened, happened. He had to stop worrying. He just had to take it a day at a time. Stop being so afraid...of being afraid. After all, he was only human._

_But as a Digimon Tamer, with Renamon and Guilmon by his side, he felt like so much more._

He smiled, and muttered under his breath.

"Hope you're a good one."

He turned to his partners, who looked at him, unsure of what to expect.

"Well come on, guys. Let's go."

_FIN_

-----------------------------------------------------------

A/N:

I'd like to give a final thanks to anyone and everyone who's read my little plotline here, which began over two years ago with 'Loss and Gain' which ran a meager 8,700 words. And I'd like to reiterate that it was just THREE reviews, that inspired me to continue the story with 'Life and Death', which put its predecessor to shame in terms of length and character depth. And here, I tried my best to squeeze a little more out of my plot, without exploding into some crazy universe, that could easily span a dozen more 20,000-word entries. Well, maybe not THAT many.

You might notice that not a whole lot happened plotwise with Love and Hate, as I wanted to give most of my focus to character depth and development this time around.

I'd also like to give a special thanks to those who have taken time to leave me a review or two, especially, ESPECIALLY, the criticizing ones. Your constructive criticism, what you perceive to be wrong with my writing, does wonders for me in my journey of becoming a better author. So thank you, very very much.

_**milesprower06**_


End file.
